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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: court · scale · leaves · branch · tear · face · row · kid

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. tear — from crying
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. row — to paddle
  6. tear — to rip
  7. face — to confront
  8. face — part of the head
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. scale — in music
  11. kid — to tease
  12. court — of a king
  13. court — of law
  14. branch — a division
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. court — for sport
  17. row — a line
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. tear — from crying
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. scale — size or range
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. kid — child

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com